As it turned out, Kelly and Aileen were still in contact with Douglas Taylor. In fact, he had sought them out pretty much the moment he had gotten back to L.A. Men’s vices are hard things to overcome, and Eve was not surprised to learn that Taylor had not overcome his.
They had been to his hideout in the hills, the twins said. He was still as gentlemanly as ever, they said. Eve refrained to tell them that their flawless gentleman was out to kill her. When they asked her why she was looking for him, Eve told them as much of the truth as she could—she told them he had wronged the Diamondbacks. It was enough to make them stop asking questions, and hopefully it would also be enough to keep them away from the man.
Eve thanked her ex-coworkers for the information, and then they proceeded to drink like old times and chat about anything and everything—that is, anything and everything that wasn’t Douglas Taylor, the Viper, or the Diamondbacks.
All in all, Eve thought the final evaluation of the evening was a great one; she had scored some pretty crucial information and gotten a fun night out of it in the process.
Lind and Lucas didn’t look as thrilled as they lurked in the pub amongst the customers and were forced to keep an eye on three women gossiping and getting progressively drunk. Eve caught Lind watching her with an amused grin on his face a couple of times, so she figured he couldn’t really complain that much.
The breath of fresh air that the night out with the twins brought along vanished quickly, however. Lind let her have that one night, but the next day it was down to business as usual.
“The Hills.” Alec shook his head in disbelief when they filled him and the others in the next morning. “Son of a bitch, who would’ve thought? How did he even get the money to get himself a house up there?”
“Maybe he’s squatting,” Freddie ventured.
Everyone looked at him like they had never heard anything more stupid in their life, and he settled back in his chair with a grunt and a mutter.
“So what’s the plan?” Phil enquired.
“We go in, guns blazing. And we take the bastard out,” Lind said, his blue eyes alive with fury and purpose. It made Eve shiver.
“Is that wise?” Eve ventured. It was the first time she had been allowed to sit in at one of their meetings. She had promised herself she would only deliver the information she had gotten for them and remain silent for the rest of the time, but she couldn’t help it.
“What do you mean?” Alec said. “It’s one man.”
“What if it isn’t?” Eve said. “Think about it. He’s had accomplices before.” She suppressed a shudder as she thought about Jacob and Jessica, and about Gary. “He may have them now.”
“So?” Freddie said. “We take them down, too.”
“Yes,” Eve conceded. “But it might not be so easy. Maybe someone should test the waters first.”
“Eve, what is it that you have in mind?” Lind asked, cutting to the chase. He knew her too well.
“He knows all of you,” Eve said. “So it needs to be someone he’s not familiar with. I could go over and—”
“No fucking way,” Lind hissed furiously. “You are not getting anywhere near him.”
“But—”
“He’s right,” Alec said, surprising her. Since when did he care what happened to her? “You’re staying put.”
Eve scowled fiercely at him. “What if I don’t?”
“I’ll tie you to one of these chairs. I’ll swear to God,” Alec growled back.
“He’ll do it, too,” Lucas echoed.
Eve sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. She was aware that pouting wasn’t exactly the most mature response she could have, but she couldn’t help it. She was tired of being on the sidelines.
“You’re not being left out, Eve,” Lind said, guessing her thoughts. “You’ve been a crucial element in all this. If it weren’t for you, there wouldn’t even be an operation to begin with. But now it’s our turn; you have to respect that.”
He was being gentle, but firm. He was telling her, Eve realized, that if she really wanted to be part of his world she needed to learn to play her role.
She nodded, reluctantly. “Fine,” she finally conceded. “I’ll stay put.” She looked over at Alec, unable to stop herself. “What’s your plan?”